Hey guys, I just finished my mods this weekend and took the boat for a spin this afternoon and I'm not sure I'm happy with my speeds compared to what I thought it would be... I have a mud buddy 45mag, I added a 42mm Mikuni, heads, hammer prop and Q exhaust (took off my duals). Me and a buddy took it out. Boat is an 1852 Phowler with the blind and grass still on it. So two guys, in that setup, we ran between 25 and 26mph, is that about what it should be? I realize its a heavy boat and the blind has quite a bit of grass on it, so I'm sure that adds some weight. I was hoping to be at 30mph, I was right around 4500rpms. Opinions appreciated, thanks guys.

Well that depends. What were you running before?

I'm pretty sure my heads were leaking pretty bad before... But I would be lucky to get 20 with the same load I had today at 3800rpms, and I couldn't even get on plane with 3 guys.. I'd be happy if I could put a couple more guys in and some decoys and still be right around 26mph, but I'm going to wait until its warmer out to run it fully loaded.

How many hours on the motor?

140 I believe

You're running 26 at what RPM?

Are you sure you have full travel on the throttle? (with motor off, clamp down the lever on the tiller and reach up and see if there's any more travel upward on the throttle shaft).

What main jet is in the carb?

Did you try running it with a Big Blade?

I run a heavy boat about the same size with same mods on a CDI 45mag.

I was between 4500 and 4600 rpms at the sweet spot. My old big blade is shot so I don't really have one to try...

Stock coils with the 5000-5200rpm rev limiter... How do I check the travel? I have the BPS throttle, I can feel power throughout the whole throttle, but it doesn't pull all the way into the handle, it stops with about a half inch to go, is that normal? It pulled all the way in with the stock carb.

Also how is your prop?

It could be your travel like said above. I run that with a stock Go Devil surface drive. I was running 27.5 today and was smoked by a 5500 Black Death on an 1852. You should be faster

That many rpm's, and that speed, sounds like you need a new prop!

The hammer is not the fastest prop, same rpm a bb will be 2 mph faster on my rig. I have worn the hammer in and gained speed. Is your blind pretty heavy, how much y'all weigh and fuel etc.

I talked with deadbird8 for a while last night. I am going to order a 170 jet for the carb, I am also going to check the throttle travel. I am going to put the big blade back on the next time I run it and see if I can get the rpms up and run faster. I talked to the guys at Phowler and my boat/blind setup should be around 850lbs (without all of the grass I have on there, and theres a lot), I had about 5 gallons of gas (front), a few life jackets, 2 batteries (rear), me 160lbs (rear) and my buddy 200lbs (front). Going to set a baseline with just me in the boat and get all of my motor tweaking done, then add the blind and some weight to get my distribution down.

You might just need a new gps lol

I would say you are on par with your gains if you picked up 5-6 mph with heads, carb, and exhaust. I would say your problem lies in props and gearing.
I would try the big blade and get your rpms in the 4700 neighborhood with gearing.

How's the hull condition?

The hull is in great shape, I'm hoping the big blade prop makes a difference for me. I don't think I will have a problem moving a load anymore, so I want to go for speed..

I'm running a 1754 gator trax with a hunt deck that is 18' 8" long. Getting the same speeds with heads and carb.